Your ultimate guide to the NRL pre-season

It's been 56 days since the Four Nations final, when we last saw a Steeden kicked in anger and 120 kilos of Shannon Boyd cutting about in short shorts.

But that all changes in a mere matter of weeks, because the footy is back, and back with a vengeance.

The first sultry weekend of February gives us crowd favourite the Auckland Nines, and kicks off the longest rugby league season in memory - clocking in at more than 300 days by the time the World Cup final rolls round in December.

Be it Nines, All Stars, World Club Series or your team's trials, we've got you covered with everything you need to know in our 2017 ultimate pre-season guide.

AUCKLAND NINES

When: February 4-5

Where: Eden Park

Where to watch: Live and exclusive on Fox Sports

We all know the drill now, nine players a side, nine minutes a half and anything can happen.

JT, Hayne, Johnson and the whole NRL gang will descend on Auckland for an action-packed weekend with $2.3 million of prizemoney on offer and 16 coaches praying their stars get through unscathed.

The 2017 edition will also see the controversial zero-tackle rule on 20-metre taps scrapped for the tournament.